Tutorial: Wooden handle for a pick!(large pictures)

[atticRR]

Hey all i wanted to add to the awesome collection of how to articles on lp101. I will be showing how to add a wooden handle to your picks. This works with picks that you make or purchase. The wood i'm using in the tutorial is teak and came from some bit of home decor i purchased for $ .50 in a thrift store. I dont have a pic of its original form and i dont know what it was, but it was about the size of a large salad plate. Starting with flat, rectangular pieces of wood would be ideal, but i was going for cheap!

These first two pictures are showing what i was starting with, the picks are just there for scale purposes.



this is the pick i'm putting the handle on and the instructions:


I tried using a dremel attachment to hollow out the handle area, eventually i just put a chisel edge on a flathead screwdriver and carved out the channel like that. Taking a little at a time and checking the fit often i ended with a tight, flush, fit between the original metal handle and the inside of the custom handle.






and clamped:
http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh5 ... 1342489722

as soon as i have the pick properly finished i will post some photos. I'm really not happy with how it turned out, actually. The pick i ground out of a broken key extractor and it turned out so free king AWESOME! (thanks to Romstar for the stencils) The finish is superb (thank you, Raimundo and others...) but the handle is sort of short and it reminds of a paring knife somehow . Structurally it is very good, the handle is so solid, good feedback and its never coming apart.

Give me a day or two and i'll show the finnished pick, i promise.

R

[atticRR]

aaaight, here it is. it took A LOT of filing and carving to get the wood down to a reasonable size/ thickness. During the process, using files and razors, I screwed up what was a perfect finish on the metal of the pick. Pre-woodworking, that thing caressed its way into the lock, bumping softly over pins, sliding seductively along wards, until-POP! the lock opened. Now its like an average store bought, home polished pick-good, but not at all like before .

Suggestion: Cover the exposed part of the finished pick with something tough, like duct tape, prior to filing and sanding to protect it. (definately do all the metalwork before mounting IMHO)

Also: make sure your handle isnt all short like mine. This pick still works great, i sure wish the handle was longer though.

At long last here it is:




I want to finish off the handle all the way, realistically i might not though. Its likely ill use this one as is and make a newer, hopefully better, one. Rest assured, if i make one and it has a wood handle using the technique above (which i think is a good one) i'll post it here.

Thanks for watching, any and all criticisms or comments are always appreciated.

R

[Legion303]

Very nice writeup. I would try to make the wood conform a little closer to the metal so it doesn't end up so wide, but I admit I've never tried larger handles like that, so they might work great as-is.

Stickied.

-steve

[atticRR]

wow, thanks legion! now that its stickied i'll have to reform this pick some more! i agree that it is a bit wide, its not too bad though.

Will definately be updating this section, recently got some pretty nice walnut thats begging to be made into a handle!

[.45cal]

I have made a couple of picks all with wooden handles and I just want to add that the blanks sold commonly for pen turning are a great source for awesome looking handles.

[raimundo]

Uuh...
blanks sold commonly for pen turning....

I think ya lost me there, what blanks?, sold commonly where? and what is pen turning?.

[Josh66]

sold commonly where? and what is pen turning?.

Basically, making your own pens on a mini-lathe.

Blanks:
http://www.amazon.com/Woodcraft-Woodsho ... 737&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.com/Diagonal-Cut-Zebr ... 737&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/5lb-Pen-Blank-Gra ... 737&sr=8-1

[atticRR]

Thanks for sharing those pen blank links. I stumbled across those pen blanks while searching for burlwood. The woods are amazing and the price is reasonable because of the small sizes.

Raimundo: these pen blanks ate used to make amazing looking custom pen bodies- usually for fountain pens.

[emptech1]

I know you are probably using a hard wood, but to save milling out the depression for the metal,
why not just put the metal and a layer of wood in a vise or press and just press the metal into
the wood? Once you do it with both halves of the wood, use some five minute epoxy and laminate
the assembly using a vise.

I've got a machine shop and all the fancy equipment, but simple is good.

[Dogrocket]

Thanks for the guide. I tried making something similar using a wiper insert pick inserted into a drilled recess in a solid wood core (pen blank, that was a great tip for getting quality wood in small readily used pieces). I was feeling froggy and added a brass hilt from some scrap from a previous project.



Unfortunately, I went for a large diamond pick (probably should have gone with a rake). The result came out pretty well, but looks a bit too much like a shank so it doesn't leave the house. The feedback's not great (probably because of the drilled/epoxy filled core) - but I picked up some hardwood 1/16 ply that I'm going to try veneering around my next attempt to reduce the handle thickness and cavity size.

[C locked]

Nice job. Love to see it properly finished. Linseed Oil rub. Or laquered. but why not just simply cut a groove into the roughed out handle shape with a 32tooth hacksaw and insert the pick blade. And pin and glue in place. Why assemble from 2 parts?

[vecchioni27]

That's a nifty DIY project! If it were me, I would want to slim it down as much as possible though. Kind of looks like a steak knife! Love the idea though and great handy work!

[lucysmith]

At long last here it is:

Perfect!

Thanks a lot for the turorial.